The Hernandez family of Highlands was honored this month as the Family of the Month at Our Lady of Perpetual Help-St. Agnes Parish. The program is presented by the Rev. Joseph Donnelly Council of the Knights of Columbus.
The Hernandez ‘are a well-known family in the community, known throughout the Bayshore and beyond with their musical talent and generous sharing of it.
Justin and Courtney Hogan and their two children, Bennett and Annie, were honored at the monthly Breakfast of the Knights of Columbus held at St. Agnes church hall, Atlantic Highlands recently.
Family Director of the Council’s Family Appreciation program Michael Burke noted the certificate was presented as part of the Knights of Columbus dedication to the development of strong, vibrant families., and in support of its mission to create an even greater awareness of the many outstanding families in the parish. The program was initiated internationally by the Supreme Council in 1978 and has been an intricate part of the local Council’s programs for many years.
The Hernandez’ were named Family of the Month for outwardly exhibiting strong ties of love and faith, exemplifying Catholic family values by attending mass week throughout the year, while making contributions to their parish and surrounding community.
Grand Knight Mike Napolitano presented the family with a small gift at the ceremony at St. Agnes.
Ms Hernandez, Courtney Grogan Hernandez, has been a member of the parish since her baptism at OLPH as a child. She attended OLPH grade school through 8th grade and started working in the parish in 2013. She is an accomplished pianist and also possesses an incredible singing voice which parishioners say bring additional blessings when hearing her every Sunday at both churches as well as at the annual Christmas concerts. Courtney is also a music instructor.
Justin joined our parish in 2015 when he and Courtney married in a ceremony at OLPH. He is also an accomplished musician entertaining the parish community at holiday events with his tremendous trumpet playing.
Both care deeply and are active in the parish. Churchgoers know the couple’s dedication to music and instilling values in their children. It is not unusual for Courtney to bring the children up in the choir for Sunday mass, and for the children to be attentive as well as joining in the music.
Courtney also was joined by her son Bennett recently at the Twin Lights when she sang the Pledge of Allegiance at the recent celebration of the anniversary of the Pledge of Allegiance begin sung publicly for the first time at that site. Bennett was enthusiastic and vocal in learning and accompanying his mother.
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In the beginning God created heaven and earth2 Now the earth was a formless void, there was darkness over the deep, with a divine wind sweeping over the waters.
 God said, ‘Let there be light,’ and there was light.
 God saw that light was good, and God divided light from darkness.
 God called light ‘day’, and darkness he called ‘night’. Evening came and morning came: the first day.
 God said, ‘Let there be a vault through the middle of the waters to divide the waters in two.’ And so it was.
 God made the vault, and it divided the waters under the vault from the waters above the vault.
 God called the vault ‘heaven’. Evening came and morning came: the second day.
 God said, ‘Let the waters under heaven come together into a single mass, and let dry land appear.’ And so it was.
0 God called the dry land ‘earth’ and the mass of waters ‘seas’, and God saw that it was good.
1 God said, ‘Let the earth produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants, and fruit trees on earth, bearing fruit with their seed inside, each corresponding to its own species.’ And so it was.
2 The earth produced vegetation: the various kinds of seed-bearing plants and the fruit trees with seed inside, each corresponding to its own species. God saw that it was good.
3 Evening came and morning came: the third day.
4 God said, ‘Let there be lights in the vault of heaven to divide day from night, and let them indicate festivals, days and years.
5 Let them be lights in the vault of heaven to shine on the earth.’ And so it was.
6 God made the two great lights: the greater light to govern the day, the smaller light to govern the night, and the stars.
7 God set them in the vault of heaven to shine on the earth,
8 to govern the day and the night and to divide light from darkness. God saw that it was good.
9 Evening came and morning came: the fourth day.
0 God said, ‘Let the waters be alive with a swarm of living creatures, and let birds wing their way above the earth across the vault of heaven.’ And so it was.
1 God created great sea-monsters and all the creatures that glide and teem in the waters in their own species, and winged birds in their own species. God saw that it was good.
2 God blessed them, saying, ‘Be fruitful, multiply, and fill the waters of the seas; and let the birds multiply on land.’
3 Evening came and morning came: the fifth day.
4 God said, ‘Let the earth produce every kind of living creature in its own species: cattle, creeping things and wild animals of all kinds.’ And so it was.
5 God made wild animals in their own species, and cattle in theirs, and every creature that crawls along the earth in its own species. God saw that it was good.
6 God said, ‘Let us make man in our own image, in the likeness of ourselves, and let them be masters of the fish of the sea, the birds of heaven, the cattle, all the wild animals and all the creatures that creep along the ground.’
7 God created man in the image of himself, in the image of God he created him, male and female he created them.
8 God blessed them, saying to them, ‘Be fruitful, multiply, fill the earth and subdue it. Be masters of the fish of the sea, the birds of heaven and all the living creatures that move on earth.’
9 God also said, ‘Look, to you I give all the seed-bearing plants everywhere on the surface of the earth, and all the trees with seed-bearing fruit; this will be your food.
0 And to all the wild animals, all the birds of heaven and all the living creatures that creep along the ground, I give all the foliage of the plants as their food.’ And so it was.
God saw all he had made, and indeed it was very good. Evening came and morning came: the sixth day.
